Silvertone SS10 Update Part 1: The Good and The Bad

Following up on my initial review, after playing with the SS10 on and off over several months, I was able to pinpoint the good and the bad on my budget guitar.

THE GOOD

The times I played with the guitar has been few and far between. However, while it spent most of its time on a guitar stand or worse, in a gig bag for long periods, it stayed in tune. I'm not sure where I should attribute this quality but I guess it really doesn't matter that much as long as I can pick it up and just play without re-tuning it every single time.

Another thing I like about it is the remarkably quiet electronics. I still haven't noticed any unattractive noise or interference when it's plugged into an amp. I don't use any type of power cleaning gadgetry. I simply get my power straight from a wall socket.

THE BAD

The string buzz may have been a factor for me not to have this guitar as my go to instrument. The buzz, wherever it is located along the neck, just kills the sustain and also introduces non-musical characteristics especially when I use any distortion effect.

Even worse is the high action at the nut. It simply results in early finger fatigue especially at the lower frets. This high action also contributed to some intonation problems which was prevalent when playing open chords. Having to press on the strings down harder over-stretched the strings to the point where the notes got slightly sharp.

THE PLAN

High Action At The Nut

My options for fixing this problem were:

1. Lower the nut by sanding down the bottom if I'm able to completely remove it.
2. File the grooves if I can't remove the nut.
3. Replace it completely.

String Buzz

After setting desired action, the next step was to go down each fret for each string to locate problem spots and file them down until the buzz was gone.

Intonation

Hopefully at this point, the strings height at the nut should be ideal that intonation adjustments will be done at the bridge saddles.


In Part 2 I get my hands dirty!